Biography of Soccer Celebrity David Beckham
At the age of fourteen, David Beckham was signed by the English club team Manchester United where he would spend the next fourteen years playing soccer. In 1991, he began training full-time with Manchester United. A year later, David Beckham made his first appearance and was rewarded later in 1992 with a professional contract.
During his time with Manchester United, David Beckham was a part of several league championships, several FA Cup championships, and a European championship. In 1999, Manchester United won all three competitions. Beckham’s spectacular play for Manchester United earned him a spot on the English national team in 1997. He would play for them in the 1998 World Cup.
In the 1998 World Cup, David Beckham received a red card in a match against Argentina for kicking an Argentine player. England went on to lose the match and be eliminated from the World Cup. The media in England attacked him as being responsible for England’s loss due to his poor decision that resulted in his red card.
After the World Cup, David Beckham continued to play with his club team Manchester United and slowly worked his way back onto the good side of English fans. His marriage on July 4, 1999 to Posh Spice of the extremely popular girl group Spice Girls immediately placed the couple in the spotlight of the English media. The two eventually became icons worldwide. The births of their three sons, Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz, have been key events for international paparazzi.
David Beckham found himself in constant disputes with Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, and decided to see what other clubs were interested in his talent for soccer. In 2003, the Spanish club Real Madrid signed David Beckham to a huge contract. Real Madrid has seen little of the success that the club is used to since Beckham joined the team. Coaching and personnel issues have led to the team struggling in Spain and throughout Europe.
David Beckham continues to play for the English national team and will be playing in his third World Cup this summer in Germany. He has focused on international play and is one of England’s leaders in all-time appearances or caps, as they are known in soccer. He is on pace to become England’s all-time leader before he retires several years from now.
The mixture of his soccer stardom, his celebrity marriage, and the international hit film, Bend It Like Beckham, have made David Beckham, arguably, the most popular celebrity in the world. He has been used in soccer and non-soccer advertising internationally.
